summit to sea, part 1

Saturday I participated in an SMR training event. The focus was on winter skills and navigation. It was my first time on snowshoes and I had a blast! I enjoyed getting to know some of the team members a little bit better, and here’s something I’m pretty excited about: I got an invite to go ice climbing next weekend (using technical tools and skills to ascend the vertical face of a 200’ frozen waterfall inside Sequoia Natl Park)! I’ll certainly be posting more on that if it works out.



Also, I was issued a nifty little handheld GPS/radio unit to keep for as long as I'm part of the team. Members are encouraged to use them on their own adventures so that they're always familiar with their operation and control. These things don't eliminate the need for traditional orienteering skills with map and compass, but they sure are useful for things like finding/marking locations, determining altitude, and keeping in contact with team members and HQ.

summit to sea, part 2

Two days later (today), I was at the beach in a T-shirt. I had to travel to The Superior Court at Grover Beach. When your clients are charged with crimes while vacationing at the beach, then obviously you have to go to the beach to represent them! And while you're there, might as well stay and hang out a while, right? I drove up the Pacific Coastal Highway (PCH) from Pismo to Morro, and thoroughly enjoyed the outing. These pics were taken with my phone, since I forgot my camera. I'm pretty happy with the resolution on them- it far exceeds the pics my old phone used to take.









I'm definitely liking the fact that I can go snowshoeing at almost 8,000' and then be back at sea level to go surfing or whatever, in the same week, all within a couple of hours from home.

amazon swim

Anybody up for a little swim? In a few days the world's greatest long distance marathon swimmer is going to attempt to swim the Amazon River, not from bank to bank but from source to estuary, a distance of 3,375 miles. And he's planning to do it in 70 days. Sounds pretty crazy right? This won't be his first big river though. Martin Strel holds records for being the first and only person to swim the Danube, Mississippi, and Yangtze rivers, among others. Check out the details or at least watch the promo video clip at http://www.amazonswim.com/?page=Intro. It's intriguing.

"As a young boy, I was beaten a lot by my parents and schoolmasters. This no doubt contributed greatly to my ability to ignore pain and endure..."-Martin Strel, Guiness World Record holder

I logged on to AOL to check my e-mail today, and this guy's story was one of the headlines. He's definitely nuts, and I'm definitely going to be checking that website from time to time to see his progress. I think he'll make it.

The feats of this swimmer sure do put my little hike into perspective...

some interests and goals

It's still January so I'm going to go with a "it's not too late to post New Year's resolutions" stance. Actually the things below aren't so much New Year's resolutions as they are just some current interests and long range planning ideas. I scribbled this list back in December because I was feeling like there were a bunch of things rattling around in my head that I was going to forget if I didn't jot them down. They're not prioritized or in any particular order.

• Get into snowshoeing- within the next 3 months
• Whitewater kayaking- 6 months
• Motorcycle- 2 years
• LASIC (corrective eye surgery)- 1 yr
• Handgun and concealed carry permit- 1 yr
• Sequoia Mountain Rescue- (already doing, yay! =)
• Soccer/Ultimate/gym (some kind of regular exercise)- another one I can already check off
• drum or guitar lessons- 3 yrs (figure I shouldn't get a drum set while I'm still in an apt)
• Buy and fix up a house- 3 yrs (so I can get a drum set)
• Learn Spanish- 3 yrs (bilingual people are cool and seem smart. plus, it could be a big asset with my job)
• Get plugged in at a local church- 3 months
• new car- 2 yrs (Fiona's fine but I'm still enamored with WRX's and VW hatchbacks)
• move the rest of my stuff from PA to CA- 6 months (hopefully this will happen if M&D come to visit, maybe in Feb.)
• Find a wife or girlfriend- within the next 30 or so years

I realize that this list is oriented mostly towards the superficial and material. Like I said, it's not prioritized, nor is it comprehensive. My relationship with the Lord comes first and foremost. I want to be more involved in ministry, both through a local church and by supporting my friends who are in missions. I also want to be a good attorney. I'm finding that law school doesn't quite prepare you 100% for the practice of law, and I'm used to being able to take pride in my work. There's a significant learning curve with what I'm doing but I think I'm making progress. And as always, my family is the most important thing in my life. If I achieve nothing else in 2007 I hope I can stay close with each one even though I'm the farthest away.

And on a completely different note, here are the most recent pics to be pulled off my camera...

This was taken from one of the office windows, on a very clear day. Oftentimes you can't see the mountains at all. Actually these are still just foothills. The High Sierra, beyond these hills, isn't visible from the Valley.

This is my new phone. It's much thinner and smaller than my old one, with a lot more features (including the red touch-sensitive music controls on the front flip). What's not to like?

Also, Verizon gave me a free month of their internet and streaming video service, so I can check my e-mail from my phone for a few weeks. pretty cool!

West Coast fast food

There are a whole slew of different fast food joints around here that the East doesn't have. Here are a few I jotted down:

-Sonic
-Carl's Jr. (really good burgers- reminds me of The Jackson House burgers)
-Green Burito
-Del Taco
-El Pollo Loco
-A&W's
-In & Out Burgers
-Jack In The Box
-Baja Fresh
-Panda Express
-El Gordo Express

You'll notice there's a lot of Mexican food =). There are also some different drink places, like Kiva Juice and Jamba Juice (good smoothies). And some of the Starbucks out here have drive-thru's. No Dunkin Donuts though, which I miss because they started carrying these awesome "White hot chocolate" drinks which are really good. I haven't noticed any other Eastern franchises that aren't represented out here, although I've only seen one Wendy's, which is a shame because Wendy's used to be a lunchtime staple.

holidays '06

okay, I'm back, and I have a lot of catching up to do.

My flight home for Christmas wasn't scheduled for departure until almost midnight on the 24th, so I had most of Christmas Eve to finish up shopping, do laundry, and pack. It was a fairly relaxing day, all except for the part of the day where I stepped outside to throw something in the dumpster and discovered that the door had locked behind me. My wallet, cell phone, and keys were all inside. I had left the TV and the heat on (yeah, I was splurging since it was Christmas Eve). The apartment manager was nowhere to be found, and I had a plane to catch!

Long story short, I got some hanger wire from a neighbor, climbed up onto the laundry room roof and from there climbed onto my balcony, where I used the wire to jimmy the latch on my sliding glass doors. This solution solved my immediate problems, but has made me all the more interested in looking into renter's insurance, in case anyone else has similar ideas.

My travel to and from PA was just like my dating life: uneventful and hassle-free. I actually made it to and from LA in just a couple hours, although directions online predicted 3.5! And on one leg of the trip, the passengers barely outnumbered the crew so I had a whole row to myself.

The highlights of my time at home were relaxing with my parents, hangin' out at my sister's, "Buckin' Bronco" with the nephews and niece, and games and restaurants with friends. I can't believe I had wondered what I was going to do for nearly two weeks. I was booked! But although busy, the vacation was restful overall. I slept in and stayed up atrociously late too, which of course is singularly unproductive but what vacations are all about.

I'm back in Cali now, and not sure which place to call "home" anymore. But it doesn't really matter, I suppose. It's not like I have no place to call home- I have two =). I feel really lucky to have such awesome family and friends. Happy 2007 y'all!

case dismissed!

I won my first case Thursday. Okay, so it wasn't a jury trial and it wasn't really "my" case, but still, I talked to the judge and the district attorney, and they decided to drop all charges against our client. It was the same case I had tried to get dismissed a couple weeks ago. It had been continued for two weeks, and this time I was able to talk to one of the more senior (and reasonable) DA's about it. Long story short, we win! Our client's record is clean, we get our money, the DA's can go prosecute cases that actually have merit, etc. The only downside is that I spent a good chunk of the last few weeks preparing an appeal which will now never be heard. Oh well- good practice for next time, I suppose.

Needless to say I was pretty excited leaving the courthouse. In fact, I was so excited that I drove off with our client's file sitting on the roof of my car. Halfway back to the office I realized what I'd done and turned around. Sure, the case had been dismissed, but the file was still packed with legal documents containing confidential information. Back at court, no sign of the file. The clerk's office hadn't seen it. With little hope, I started walking up the road only to notice two employees from the medical center next door out in the middle of Lacey Boulevard with arms full of papers. Ten minutes later all papers had been retrieved, even the ones two blocks up the street in the Waffle House parking lot.

What can I say, Christmas came early for me this year.

check it out

go to www.ula-equipment.com and click refresh a few times if you don't see me. Brian, the guy who owns ULA, sold me the pack I used for my thru-hike. I sent him a thank-you postcard with a picture a while back, and he's put it on his website. I'm not sure how my name got changed...

I'm famous! Hi Mom!!

a one-year anniversary

One year ago today I had a little run-in with that most dangerous of power tools, the table saw. The index, middle, and ring fingers on my right hand weren't much of a match for the carbide tipped blade spinning at several thousand revolutions per minute.

I've always considered myself to be fairly careful with power tools. Having grown up around them I was familiar with what they were capable of. I'd heard people with half a hand warn that the minute you don't respect these things, they'll bite ya. But a momentary lapse of caution together with a couple of other factors such as hurrying and extreme cold all combined to make for a very interesting workday.

Here's the glove I was wearing that day. It didn't have any holes pre-accident =)

I'm purposely omitting the pics I snapped with my camera phone at the hospital. Here's the hand 5 days after:

And here's the hand I'm typing this with today (just snapped with my camera phone):

Isn't the body's power to heal itself incredible? Or rather, isn't the One who created the human body amazing. A year later, my glove's still torn up, but all I have are some faint scars and some scar tissue, and some (not total) loss of feeling. I can type and do just about everything else just fine. This could have been so much worse. God is gracious! (Incidentally, that happens to be the meaning of my name.)

tidings of great birthday wishes

Happy birthday bro. you da man!

In keeping with the excellent tradition started by Erin...

hearings shmearings

The latest work-related news is that I showed up in court today (all spiffy in a new suit of course) and discovered that I had the wrong time for our pretrial hearing. What a waste of a clean dress shirt.

More interestingly, albeit less recently, I got to argue the merits of a case before a judge in chambers last week. I was sent to simply confirm dates at a trial readiness hearing, but informed that if I could ask to speak with the judge in chambers (fancy legal word for "office"), AND convince him and/or the DA to dismiss our case, I'd be looking at a hefty Christmas bonus. With nothing but inexperience to lose, I gave it a shot. I presented a brief summation of the facts of our case along with our strongest arguments why dismissing the case is in everyone's best interests, and the judge's interest was piqued. He indicated that he saw some merit in what I was saying, and just as a glimmer of hope started to surface, the DA piped up with some concocted story justifying the charges which was completely inconsistent with what the officers had written in the police report. I was 99% sure this guy (who wasn't the DA assigned to the case and was just filling in) hadn't even read the case materials or the police report and was just full of crap. I called him on the carpet but it was just enough to keep the case headed for trial: No dismissal for our client, and no Christmas bonus for me. I learned from another DA in the office that I was up against the young hardline prosecutor who's making a name for himself by racking up as many convictions as possible. Apparently his self-image can't handle the defeat of dismissing a losing case that's not even his. Actually, he may not have had the authority to dismiss, since he apparently doesn't have all that much seniority in the office (all the more reason to appear tough- it's a vicious cycle).

Anyway, it was the first time I appeared in a persuasive rather than simply procedural capacity. Instead of entering a plea, requesting a continuance, or scheduling court dates, I was actually arguing the merits of a case. Gotta admit, I was a little nervous when the judge looked down at me and said "Mr. S------, what do have on this case?," but I enjoyed it as well. From what I hear, a little fear can heighten the senses and improve performance, as long as you're controlling it and not vice versa. Anyway, it adds to the experience, just like it does with, say, skydiving.

That's what's new on the legal front, at least on the surface. Below the surface, an issue is brewing, which I hope to resolve and later blog about in a post titled "the ethics of criminal defense." In that post, look for answers to such weighty questions as "is there such a thing?,"can prosecutors be sleazy too?," and "why didn't Sean go to the potluck dinner at Faith Baptist?" Ok, that last one might not be included, but it's still a weighty question.

warning- boring post

Today marks the first time (as far as I recall) that I've paid someone else to change my oil and filter, something I'm perfectly capable of doing myself. Actually, I enjoy being under the hood occasionally. Few things make you feel more like a man than wielding a big wrench in grease-stained, busted-knuckled hands. But it's just not very practical in my present circumstances (insufficient tools and space, and probably against the rules at the apt complex anyway). The upside is I found this lube place that has you in and out in ten minutes without ever leaving your car! (Rather than using a lift, you pull up over a "pit" and they do the work from below. ) I was impressed with the efficiency of the system, and can certainly see why hardly anybody bothers with doing it themselves anymore. And, I used a coupon I found in the phone book to get three dollars off plus a free car wash. I'm sure Fiona is surprised and grateful for the sudden lavish attention bestowed upon her.

California's Central Valley is essentially a dust bowl, so the cars get really dirty really fast. One guy at my office has a monthly membership arrangement with the car wash allowing for unlimited washes. I never heard of such a thing back east. And I'm sure products like Rain-X, which are big in the northeast, aren't so hot out here. Sometimes I wonder if the windshield wipers will ever serve a purpose other than smearing the dust around on the glass.

My father was a top-notch mechanic, working on everything from boats to big rigs. His father ("Grandad") maintained a little workshop down in the basement so he could tinker well into his golden years. I'm grateful for the experiences I too have had working on my own vehicles and learning from/helping Dad work on the family cars growing up.

So today, I'm glad the Subie's clean and lubed, but I miss the satisfaction and fulfillment of getting down and dirty with the tools.

waning uncle-osity

I miss my nieces and nephews! Can't wait to see the PA ones at least over Christmas. Look at how cute these kids are!


This is the newest neice, Mary Kate Colleen. Looks like she was born with only three fingers on her right hand.


This is my Oklahoma niece, Adelaide Wynn, or "Addie." Do we not make a very cute couple?


And here's a man after my own heart: Owen Patrick. He concocted this getup with the help of his two older brothers and younger sister before bedtime the other day. This is some classic styling: tube socks to the shoulder, pants legs rolled up to the thigh, and suspenders with no shirt. Reminds me of some of my own original designs, back in the day. I'm not sure exactly what he was going to be fishing for.

He doesn't even wear glasses. And yes, that's a sharpened stick protruding from the bandana. Note the clever placement of hair (or ear =) scrungies. Ingenious!

stop asking me!

Many of you have been clamoring for pictures of my new suits. Well I'm not going to post any and I'll tell you why: It's vain and it's lame. I mean, if I ran across somebody's blog where their latest post was a picture of them sporting their new sweater, I'd be, how shall I put it, somewhat less than interested. Besides, after how much I've talked them up I don't think one or two pictures are really going to do them justice. So if you want to see the shoes or the suits, you're just going to have to come visit me. Yep, that's right- I'm extending an open invitation. Come one, come all.




sorry to disappoint.





On second thought, I guess I don't see any harm in posting just one little picture...

cold snap, gym membership

The locals are going crazy because the temperature dipped below freezing last night. I heard one guy announce with an air of incredulity and amazement, "It's so cold- if it rained it would be snow!" Now I've never considered myself to be a true Northerner or anything, but comments like that make me wonder. Actually my thermostat measured 54 degrees in the apt when I woke up this morning. It's not that I'm too cheap to use the heat. It's just that I'm not there most of the time, and most of the time that I am there, I'm sleeping or on the couch and can don a blanket. I guess one of the pluses of being an avid backpacker is that I have lots of warm sleeping bags.

In other news, I've joined a gym! I've never had a gym membership before and I'm pretty excited about it. I have to admit, however, that when I was there last night I found it a little overwhelming. I hardly know the first thing about working out, and there were SO many machines! I'll probably spend most of my time in the actual gymnasium proper, where they have pick-up basketball daily, and open indoor soccer and volleyball every week. Oh, and I stepped on the scale and was amazed to find that I weigh over twenty pounds more than I did when I finished hiking the AT.

lawyer stuff

Time for a work update. I've been doing the whole lawyer thing for roughly two months now, and I'm still a total newbie. But I have had some interesting experiences so far and I'd like to think I'm learning a thing or two along the way.

My first day on the job, Martens took me with him to the county jail to interview some inmates he had been appointed by the state to represent in parole revocation hearings. I don't recall ever being inside a jail before. After surrendering our ID's and bar cards, we were ushered past several steel doors. Some guy was having what looked like a drug-induced seizure on the floor. We walked around. The interviews were conducted in a small room surfaced entirely in concrete save the steel door, which locked behind us after we entered. When we were ready for the next inmate, we had to summon a guard to open the door. The guards were pretty busy and one time we had to wait several minutes to be let out. We joked about the panic button on the wall and how help probably would have come too late had there been a real emergency. Right after that, for some reason my boss and the hearing coordinator dude had to step out for a bit, and the door slammed shut on me and a very large mean looking inmate with limited English. I remember vaguely wondering whether this would be a good time to start getting concerned. But then, I reminded myself that I was on this guy's side- defense counsel. Besides, he was only in for grand theft auto number five, I think. No worries, right?

On the way out we had to wait while other inmates were shuffled around. Some guard was having a confrontation with another inmate. Trying to stay out of the way, I hugged the wall. I didn't freak out at all. At least not until I looked up to see a haggard female inmate about four feet away giving me an extremely creepy smile through the bars. Not like a "hey, how are ya" smile, but more of a "I want something from you" smile.

I've made some appearances in court as well. Just simple procedural stuff, but still, it's unfamiliar and therefore somewhat daunting. The real trial by fire came last week when I had to do six appearances in one morning. Two lawyer friends had made a mutual mistake resulting in a scheduling conflict, and asked me to fill in for them. Another lawyer in their office heard what was going on and asked if I could appear to request continuances on a couple of his cases as well. One of the cases was a felony sentencing hearing. My friend admonished me that whatever happened I was not to allow his client to be taken into custody. No kidding! I wasn't too thrilled at the possibility that some guy could be hauled off to jail because of my inadequate representation, but it ended up being no problem. The most stressful part of the day was getting lost on the way to the courthouse (Bakersfield- I'd never appeared there before), parking in the wrong spot, and making it into the courtroom with no time to spare. Seriously, criminal court appearances are not something you show up late for. Besides the adverse effects for your client, the attorney can face fines, penalties, and other criminal sanctions, including a suspended license or disbarment, which is always a real downer.

Not one person mistook me for a defendant or student today! I'm crediting the new charcoal grey suit with making me look sophisticated and professional.

tp, electricity, and other facets of single life

I've lived away from home before, but always with at least a couple roommates. So I've never lived completely by myself. The biggest downside to this is that time at home can occasionally be a battle with boredom/loneliness. However, there are pluses as well. For example:

-Things stay where I put them.
-Things last a really long time. Things like, soap, toilet paper, detergent, even food. My household cleaners will likely last several decades at the current rate of consumption.
-I can leave my shoes on the living room floor if I feel like it. Or the kitchen counter, or the hallway. In a word, I have options.
-Nobody scolds me if I fall asleep with the light or tv on. (Actually, this is probably a bad thing)

Speaking of, I got my second electricity bill today, and found it quite disconcerting. I have been trying my best to minimize use of electricity. Seriously, other than a couple of appliances and a light bulb or two in the evening,I use virtually no electricity at all. I haven't touched my thermostat in weeks. (The weather's been so moderate that I haven't had the heat or AC on in well over a month, I'm sure!)Yet somehow my bill was still over $30 dollars. I know, that's probably not worth complaining about, but I was sort of hoping for a bill in the five to ten dollar range. Is that too much to ask? I mean, c'mon- I have to pay for my suits!

SMR update

Sequoia Mountain Rescue called me back (the next morning). They voted on me, and I was unanimously approved as their newest probationary member! I believe that makes me the only conservative to win a vote in recent elections. I'm excited about the first team training exercise, on December 10.

more on grace

Just one more paragraph from that book, definitely worth the read, in my opinion:

"During the Brezhnev era at the height of the Cold War, Billy Graham visited Russia and met with government and church leaders. Conservatives back home reproached him for treating the Russians with such courtesy and respect. He should have taken a more prophetic role, they said, by condemning the abuses of human rights and religious liberty. One of his critics accused him of setting the church back fifty years. Graham listened, lowered his head, and replied, 'I am deeply ashamed. I have been trying very heard to set the church back two thousand years.'"

By this all men will know that you are My disciples: If you love one another.

today's highlights

1. Blowing the budget at Men's Wearhouse. Pro's: now that I'm getting my first new custom-tailored suits, I can see myself actually enjoying dressing up for the first time in my life. Con's: spent just over a thousand bucks! Yikes. Hopefully I'll be able to recoup that when I show up in court in my new duds and attract lots of new clients.

2. Buying my first set of golf clubs at the "Rescued Treasures" Salvation Army thrift store for $10. The boss and I conjured up the brilliant idea of buying ourselves 20 spare clubs so we can have some extra fun on the course by wrapping a nine iron around a tree or sending the #3 wood on a high arc into the water hazard. Also a great stress reliever. (more on golf in a future post)

golfing done right.

3. Walking several blocks downtown in the middle of the afternoon on our way back to the office from Rescued Treasures, sporting our newly acquired clubs (no caddies, just clubs). Lots of interesting looks from motorists and passersby.

4. Attending a first meeting with Sequoia Mountain Rescue. Most of the team was there, and I was impressed with the professional yet fun and close-knit atmosphere. I'm looking forward to hearing back from them soon. (I think they were going to vote on whether to accept me as a probationary member after I left.)

on Grace

I've been reading a book called "What's So Amazing About Grace," by Phillip Yancey. I've been thoroughly enjoying it, and highly recommend this title. In the chapter I was reading last night, the following paragraphs stood out:

"I believe that dispensing God's grace is the Christian's main contribution. As Gordon McDonald said, the world can do anything the church can do except one thing: it cannot show grace. In my opinion, Christians are not doing a very good job of dispensing grace to the world..."

"Jesus did not let any institution interfere with his love for individuals. Jewish racial and religious policies forbade him to speak with a Samaritan woman, let alone one with a checkered moral background; Jesus selected one as a missionary. His disciples included a tax collector, viewed as a traitor by Israel, and also a Zealot, a member of the super-patriot party. He praised the countercultural John the Baptist. He met with Nicodemus, an observant Pharisee, and also with a Roman centurion. he dined in the home of another Pharisee named Simon and also in the home of an "unclean" man, Simon the leper. For Jesus, the person was more important than any category or label."

Perhaps this excerpt loses loses impact when isolated from its surrounding pages, but for me it rang especially true. Christians should be known by their spirit of love, not judgment. After all, it was love's triumph over judgment that made a way of salvation for us all.